1st Snow Fall in WNY

shawnski451 · Dec 1, 2020

It's been a while since I put the little Sparkplug out in harms way but decided to do it today. 20 mph winds and some snow coming off of Lake Erie... Tough little bastard. Hope ya like this one.

Dave Canada · Dec 2, 2020

tough and reliable drone for sure

hiflyer · Dec 2, 2020

I hope you used a nice warm towel to dry your Spark and put it away safely...That is really a good, skillful, beautiful video in so many ways. Thanks for posting!

SoccerRef12 · Dec 2, 2020

I love it! A truly winter Spark video. You and your Spark are to be commended for braving the elements to bring us a winter video. Thanks.

twickers14 · Dec 2, 2020

Oh boy. That looked cold and so impressive that pilot and aircraft braved it to share with us. See you were shooting at the junction of Lake Shore and Big Tree-busy and grey but very watchable. We are due a few flakes here on Thursday/Friday but it usually amounts to nothing. The trees at the end looked lovely. Well done.

Dragonfly Joe · Dec 2, 2020

Fantastic flying shawnski451. You had your Spark hustling out there for sure. Enjoyed the video but was nervous for you with 20MPH winds and all that water below. Nice job and thanks for sharing with us.

Mtntrogger · Dec 2, 2020

I grew up right down the street from this.

Spark^ · Dec 5, 2020

A great little spark of life on a cold winter's day. The spark is a lot tougher than given credit for. It's a wee brute. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend. ????

shawnski451 · Mar 14, 2021

hiflyer said:
I hope you used a nice warm towel to dry your Spark and put it away safely...That is really a good, skillful, beautiful video in so many ways. Thanks for posting!

I know I'm a little late to comment here (spare time is a rare thing with 3 year old twins)... but yes, I dried the little monster off really good before putting it away. This was actually the last time I flew it. Hoping to put it in the air a little more in the up coming days.

shawnski451 · Mar 14, 2021

Spark^ said:
A great little spark of life on a cold winter's day. The spark is a lot tougher than given credit for. It's a wee brute. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend. [emoji1063][emoji106][emoji869]

I couldn't agree more. I have a Mavic Air and I rarely put it through any kind of inclement weather. I've done it with the Spark a bunch of times in the past and I'm very confident it can handle the snow and some wind. I do stay out of rain tho.

shawnski451 · Mar 14, 2021

Mtntrogger said:
I grew up right down the street from this.

Really, I frequent this area quite often. Is there anything you'd like me to take photos or video of? I'd be happy to get some ideas.

shawnski451 · Mar 14, 2021

Dave Canada said:
tough and reliable drone for sure

It sure is. I call it my workhorse. I also have a Mavic Air that I paid like $800.00 that's for nice weather flying. Lol.

shawnski451 · Mar 14, 2021

twickers14 said:
Oh boy. That looked cold and so impressive that pilot and aircraft braved it to share with us. See you were shooting at the junction of Lake Shore and Big Tree-busy and grey but very watchable. We are due a few flakes here on Thursday/Friday but it usually amounts to nothing. The trees at the end looked lovely. Well done.

That's exactly where I was. I'm honestly not afraid to put the Spark up in those conditions... I mean, any more wind than that wouldn't be a good idea. I'm thinking about doing a re-shoot of the same video on a nice summer day.

shawnski451 · Mar 14, 2021

Dragonfly Joe said:
Fantastic flying shawnski451. You had your Spark hustling out there for sure. Enjoyed the video but was nervous for you with 20MPH winds and all that water below. Nice job and thanks for sharing with us.

It actually handles the wind very well around 20mph... I've flown it in 25 mph winds before and that was a little dicey. Another thing, I never fly over water without a battery strap on it. Too many horror stories about batteries falling out to take that chance.

twickers14 · Mar 15, 2021

Very good advice re the battery strap over water. I was flying here over the Severn Estuary at Severn Beach a couple of years ago and the battery suddenly popped off at about 100ft. Luckily it was relatively close to shore and the tide was out (but it’s one of the biggest tide changes in the world here-12mtrs I think) so it is very muddy. Long story short battery lost but Spark heli-hovered down close enough to the rocky bank for me to fish her out with a specially adapted contraption-window cleaner pole plus metal coat hanger, and then spend the next 4 hours getting her washed and dried. Still flying happily and safely with strap today! I was very lucky.

Mtntrogger · Mar 19, 2021

twickers14 said:
Very good advice re the battery strap over water. I was flying here over the Severn Estuary at Severn Beach a couple of years ago and the battery suddenly popped off at about 100ft. Luckily it was relatively close to shore and the tide was out (but it’s one of the biggest tide changes in the world here-12mtrs I think) so it is very muddy. Long story short battery lost but Spark heli-hovered down close enough to the rocky bank for me to fish her out with a specially adapted contraption-window cleaner pole plus metal coat hanger, and then spend the next 4 hours getting her washed and dried. Still flying happily and safely with strap today! I was very lucky.

Wasnt it you that posted a video of you landing the spark on a beach that was across a bay from you...then you restarted the bird and flew home from the beach, super cool. I have yet to land in a different place than I took off from.

twickers14 · Mar 19, 2021

Mtntrogger said:
Wasnt it you that posted a video of you landing the spark on a beach that was across a bay from you...then you restarted the bird and flew home from the beach, super cool. I have yet to land in a different place than I took off from.

Wasn’t me. I would not have had the confidence then but perhaps I might these days as, with lockdown, I can’t get out much and risks are on the menu when I finally do get out!!

shawnski451 · Apr 3, 2021

Mtntrogger said:
Wasnt it you that posted a video of you landing the spark on a beach that was across a bay from you...then you restarted the bird and flew home from the beach, super cool. I have yet to land in a different place than I took off from.

Wow! Where can I find that video? That would be awesome to see.

shawnski451 · Apr 3, 2021

twickers14 said:
Very good advice re the battery strap over water. I was flying here over the Severn Estuary at Severn Beach a couple of years ago and the battery suddenly popped off at about 100ft. Luckily it was relatively close to shore and the tide was out (but it’s one of the biggest tide changes in the world here-12mtrs I think) so it is very muddy. Long story short battery lost but Spark heli-hovered down close enough to the rocky bank for me to fish her out with a specially adapted contraption-window cleaner pole plus metal coat hanger, and then spend the next 4 hours getting her washed and dried. Still flying happily and safely with strap today! I was very lucky.

Yeah, I've heard way to many horror stories about that battery issue happening. It most certainly is a lesson that I don't need to be taught. I frequently fly over lake Erie ( as far as 1.5 miles) but never with out a strap.